


from benevolence to malevolence

by orphan_account



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, M/M, Spoilers, Tainted Sorey, not described in detail because other things are the focus, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 20:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15081194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: At what was supposed to be their final battle with Heldalf, Sorey and Mikleo have to sacrifice something in order to defeat him. However, Sorey is tainted by malevolence, and Heldalf gets away. The others now have to find a way to save their friend from the darkness. Sorey takes Mikleo all for himself.I personally think this is kind of out of character and inaccurate so I really apologize ahdjjdksla. I went too wild and made Sorey too rough! You can still read it if you like but be warned lol





	from benevolence to malevolence

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my first sorey/mikleo fic! i do apologize if i don’t get all the technicalities right! let me know.

“Sorey!”

 

The sound of the desperate water seraph’s voice was nothing but a muffled noise in the Shepherd’s ear. Sorey felt his vision blur as his grief and anger consumed him, unable to tear the thoughts of Gramps out of his mind.

 

“Sorey, no! Gramps wouldn’t have wanted this!” Mikleo yelled desperately, running toward Sorey with all of his might and tugging on his wrist to force him to look at him. He had already lost Gramps; he refused to lose Sorey too. “Please, don’t do this! You can fight it!”

 

Sorey’s eyes softened for a moment at the sight of salty tears dripping down the smaller male’s pale skin, but it didn’t last long. The malevolence was overtaking him, the purple flames getting more furious by the second. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with malice, and he violently flung the arm that Mikleo had grasped onto. This caused Mikleo to crash onto the ground with a thud, coughing multiple times as he tried to get up again but failed.

 

The other seraphim could feel the unpleasant aura radiating from Sorey, and Lailah took a step forward. “Sorey, listen to me. You cannot let the malevolence rule over you. You must fight back or you may possibly never return to your true self. You are the Shepherd, and we have more work to do. Just, please, take a step back and-“

 

Lailah was cut off by a sharp noise of laughter echoing from Sorey’s lips. “The Shepherd... Screw that!” he yelled with contempt. “What’s the point anymore? We’ve lost too many people to keep doing this, Lailah, and this is all your fault for dragging me into this!”

 

“Sorey...” Lailah breathed out, her eyes staring at him with nothing but sympathy. “I warned you fully of the implications before you made the decision to pull that sword. You knew the possible consequences well. But are you really going to let the thing you’ve been fighting for so long rule over you? Wasn’t it your dream for humans and seraphim to live in peace? Wasn’t it your dream to purify hellions and rid this world of the malevolence that possesses it?”

 

“Who even cares about that anymore?” Sorey snarled, his eyes flaming with frustration. “That is all meaningless and stupid. It means nothing to me anymore! I’m not fighting anymore, this is over... I could care less if every seraph and human turns to malevolence at this point. Let them die. Let them submit to their true feelings; they brought it upon their self.”

 

Lailah frowned at Sorey’s words, refusing to reveal her utter disappointment at the way things had turned out. Because of this, Heldalf had gotten away, and their one chance to defeat him was taken away as well. Sorey, the boy who would have done anything for anyone, was gone.

 

“I guess we’ll just have to purify you then,” she decided. Rose and the other seraphim got into battle stance, ready to take on the Shepherd.

 

“That’s hilarious. None of you can do anything against me now. Our bonds are severed, and none of you have the power of purification. Have fun with that,” Sorey spat, turning his back on them with a smirk. 

 

“I wouldn’t turn your back.”

 

Sorey turned his head to see Mikleo slowly rising from the ground, his staff placed in front of him in preparation to defend himself. His chest heaved from heavy breaths, and he opened his mouth to blow a bit of his messy fringe out of his eyes.

 

“Oh, please. Like you would try to hurt me, Mikleo,” Sorey stressed the water seraph’s name, and it sounded almost like poison on his tongue. But he didn’t sound completely sure. “And like I said, you can’t purify me.”

 

“No, but...” Mikleo started, his violet eyes intense as he stared up at Sorey’s deep crimson eyes. They were once a beautiful emerald green filled with nothing but kindness, yet all that he sawnow was fury. Even so, when he looked at Mikleo, there was something different about them. “Lailah, you guys need to run.”

 

“What? Mikleo-“ Lailah started.

 

“I said run! I can handle this,” Mikleo begged, his eyes never leaving Sorey’s as he tightened the grip on his staff. “You can’t purify him. He’s too powerful against just you, Lailah. You need to go and make a new plan to stop him and Heldalf. Rose... you know what you have to do, don’t you?”

 

Rose’s eyes lit up in shock at Mikleo addressing her in this situation. At first, she wasn’t sure what he meant, but then it dawned on her. “Right... yes, of course. But Mikleo, he’ll kill you! We can’t just leave you behind!”

 

“He won’t kill me,” Mikleo answered without hesitation, but there was a part of him that was scared, and his sweaty palms almost dropped his mother’s staff. “Just go!”

 

“You’re an absolute idiot,” Edna scoffed, her brows furrowed. “Don’t you dare die, Meebo.”

 

“I won’t, Edna.” He didn’t even flinch at the nickname. “Please, guys... For once,I can be useful.”

 

Sorey stood and watched, not planning to stop them from leaving. Although he felt nothing but rage at them for the moment, he felt no desire to kill them. At least not yet. He would allow them to go and try whatever foolish plan they could come up with because he knew it would just be useless.

 

“Mikleo, you’ve been useful this whole time!” Rose shouted desperately, the pain on her face very clear. All of the seraphim were standing there, skeptical about actually leaving their friend behind.

 

“We don’t have time to talk about this, guys! Just run!” Mikleo begged, not sure how much longer Sorey would stand in silence. “Please go!”

 

They stood there for a few silent moments before Zaveid finally decided to speak up. “See you on the flip side, Mickey-boy. Don’t let us down.”

 

With that, he turned around and walked off with Rose and the seraphim looking at him in surprise. However, their shoulders sunk in defeat, and it wasn’t long before they started to leave the room as well.

 

Against his better judgment, Mikleo glanced back at his friends to see Lailah give him an encouraging nod before they all darted out without looking back. And then there were two.

 

“How interesting,” Sorey commented, a sly grin spreading across his lips as he took a few steps closer to Mikleo. “What makes you think I won’t kill you?”

 

Mikleo tensed up, holding onto his staff for dear life and looking up at Sorey with fear in his eyes. He realized this wasn’t wise, so he did his best to swallow his terror.

 

“I-... I can see it, Sorey,” Mikleo told him, trying to keep his voice from shaking and hoping that his assumptions were correct. “You... You look at me different than the others. You still love me... don’t you?”

 

It really did look to Mikleo like there was still something glinting in his eyes when they made eye contact. Like something was still there. He believed that Sorey wouldn’t try to kill him, even though he had tossed him aside earlier like he was nothing but a slice of meat. But Mikleo wasn’t afraid of getting hurt, not if it meant he could aid his friends in gettingthe most important person in his life back to normal.

 

“You’re delusional,” Sorey told him, reaching forward and prying Mikleo’s staff out of the seraph’s delicate yet calloused fingers. “I don’t love you. Not anymore.”

 

Mikleo’s breath was knocked out of his chest when Sorey took away his staff, and he stepped back, only for the ex-Shepherd to press Muse’s staff against the small of his back and jerk him forward. “I refuse to believe that,” Mikleo panted out bravely as he tumbled into the other male’s chest, looking up at Sorey with defiance in his eyes. He had to stay strong, even though his knees were wobbling underneath him.

 

“Hmm,” Sorey hummed, an amused grin still plastered on his face. With that, he reached his unoccupied hand forward to firmly grasp Mikleo’s chin and force him to look up at him. “Maybe I won’t kill you. Why would I when I can have you all to myself and force you to do whatever I please?”

 

Mikleo let out a shaky breath but didn’t break their eye contact. “Just stay away from the others.”

 

Sorey’s touch felt nothing like Sorey’s regular gentle and loving touch. Mikleo had spent many nights at inns and back at Elysia tucked under a blanket with his face pressed into Sorey’s neck. Sorey always did this thing throughout the night where he would stroke up and down Mikleo’s side, then his shoulder, then his cheek. And he would press kisses to his forehead, then gently ruffle his hair. Mikleo missed that touch and the love that spilled out of it every time he felt it.

 

“Agreed. I’ll just deal with them with they come to me because you and I both know that they will,” Sorey smirked, throwing the staff on the ground and pressing his hand roughly against his back to pull him closer.

 

Mikleo gulped, and Sorey smashed his lips against the smaller male’s, his tongue almost immediately forcing its way past his lips. The water seraph endured it, squeezing his eyes shut through it all because he didn’t want to look at Sorey anymore.

 

Sorey eventually pulled away and reached his hand behind him to tug on his hair and force Mikleo to open his eyes. “Hey. Look at me,” he demanded.

 

Mikleo forced his eyes open and tried to keep them from watering to no avail. A lone tear dripped down his cheek without his permission, and he glanced away from Sorey, not wanting to face him.

 

“I said look at me!” Sorey yelled, furrowing his eyebrows in anger and pulling on Mikleo’s hair even more. “You do what I say here, or your friends will be no more.”

 

“Yes...” Mikleo complied, nodding his head and sniffling as he looked back into Sorey’s eyes. He knew there was a glint of something in there; he just knew it. It was hard to find, but it was there. And even though he was treating him almost like the scum of the earth, that’s why Mikleo believed he wouldn’t kill him.

 

“Good.”

 

With that, Sorey released Mikleo and cleared his throat before ripping the Shepherd’s cloak away from his shoulders. “Guess I don’t need this anymore.”

 

Mikleo’s heart sunk at the sight of the damaged cloak dropping onto the ground, landing next to his mother’s staff. He never expected this to happen. Plucking him from his train of thought, Sorey grabbed onto Mikleo’s wrist and dragged him into another room. Mikleo flinched at the feeling of Sorey’s fingernails pressing into his skin and bit onto his lip to keep any sound of pain from escaping.

 

“I guess you’ll just have to stay in here,” Sorey said, coming to a conclusion as he pulled Mikleo into a room full of holding cells. “We can’t have you running off to help your precious little friends out, now can we?”

 

Mikleo gulped, glancing around the area as Sorey pulled open the door to one of the cells. “They are your friends too.”

 

Sorey glared at Mikleo, pressing his hand against his back and shoving him inside the cell. This caused Mikleo to tumble to the ground yet again, but this time it was on hard and filthy concrete. He winced as the concrete scraped against the palms of his hands and tore through the knees of the white pants that Gramps had made just for him.

 

“They’re not my friends,” Sorey spat, slamming the cell door shut and grabbing onto a key that was hanging on the wall to lock it. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have stuff to do.”

 

Mikleo stared at the concrete floor, positioned on his hands and knees as he felt tears form in his eyes. “Sorey.”

 

“What is it, Mikleo?” Sorey asked, sounding frustrated as he hung the key back up on the wall.

 

“You’re not going to join Heldalf, are you?” Mikleo asked, looking back at him as a few stray tears dripped from his eyes.

 

Something flickered in Sorey’s eyes at Mikleo’s words, his jaw set and his fists clenched at his side. “No. I’m not. But that’s none of your business, now, is it?”

 

“No,” Mikleo gulped, looking away and slumping his head in defeat. “What are you going to do?”

 

“I said it’s none of your business!” Sorey yelled, smacking his hand against the iron bars of the cell. “Get some rest. You’re going to need it for everything that I have planned for you.”

 

Mikleo felt his body trembling as he listened to the door to the room slam shut, leaving him in almost complete darkness. The only light available was from the tiny windows in each cell, and it was hardly enough to see very much.

 

Mikleo stayed on the ground until he could no longer hear the sound of Sorey’s footsteps in the distance. Once he was sure that he couldn’t hear him, a sob released from his throat, and he rested his forehead against the ground, grabbing onto his hair with his fingers and allowing all of his emotions to explode in a loud wail.

 

All he wanted was to go back to Elysia before Sorey ever became the Shepherd. Everything was so simple back then. Memories flooded through Mikleo’s brain, tearing him down piece by piece. He thought of their very first tickle fight, the endless nights when he snuck into Sorey’s house and they stayed up until dawn scouring through as many books as they could, and the day when Mikleo confessed his feelings by revealing his true name.

 

All he wanted was to feel Sorey’s soft fingertips against his cheeks and the lips that pressed ever-so-gently to his when none of the others were around. He would give anything just to explore one more ruin and watch Sorey’s eyes light up at a new discovery. Mikleo was afraid he would never see that again; he was afraid that all he would ever see were those grim red eyes looking at him in a way that Sorey would have never looked at him.

 

After Mikleo was all cried out, he crawled onto the hard and uncomfortable bed that was pressed up against the wall and curled up into a ball. Maybe this was all just a dream, and Sorey would be there in the morning to wake him up with playful tickles and kisses against his neck. That was all he could have wished for.

 

— — —

 

It wasn’t a dream. In the middle of the night, Mikleo woke up to the bed dipping and looked up to see a malevolent Sorey gazing down at him. He felt a wave of disappointment and gulped, rolling over onto his back.

 

“Sorey...” Mikleo mumbled, glancing over at the hands that were pressed against the mattress beside his head.

 

“Quiet,” Sorey demanded. The malevolence was growing stronger, and Mikleo could feel it well. It had truly consumed him. Mikleo was afraid that the glint he saw in Sorey’s eyes earlier wasn’t love at all, but lust and an uncontrollable want. He swallowed down those thoughts, telling himself to hold onto hope. If there was still something good inside of him, he knew that Sorey could be purified.

 

Mikleo nodded and closed his mouth, his arms pressed close to his sides as he braced himself for whatever Sorey was going to do.

 

“What a shame...” Sorey muttered, glancing down at Mikleo’s ripped up pants and grabbing onto the beginning of them. “Ripped. Looks like they’ll have to come off.”

 

Mikleo felt his breath catch in his throat as Sorey shoved his arm underneath him to hold him up as he tugged the pants down with full force and threw them to the other side of the cell with full force. They were already ripped anyways, so it didn’t really matter if he was careless. Mikleo shivered and curled up his toes, knowing what was coming next.

 

Not wasting time, Sorey pulled off the rest of Mikleo’s clothes as well and pinned the water seraph’s wrists onto the mattress, dropping his head into his neck to sink his teeth into his skin. Mikleo let out a whimper of pain, his face heating up and his heart pounding in his chest. He could have struggled and pushed away; he could have tried to get away. But there was a part of him that ached for Sorey’s touch so urgently that he couldn’t manage it, even if the touch wasn’t the kind that he desired.

 

Mikleo felt tears streaming down his cheeks as Sorey went further and further, eventually getting to the point where he had unzipped his pants and allowed himself entry. Mikleo wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and pull him closer, but he refrained. He wanted to pretend that this was the real Sorey, and he wanted to be enveloped completely by the feeling of his significant other. However, he knew that if he completely gave himself in, he would be corrupted by malevolence as well. His mind would go blank, and he would sink in, thinking of nothing but Sorey, Sorey, Sorey. He couldn’t do that.

 

Sorey and Mikleo had only had sex one other time before this, and it was the night after Sorey told Mikleo about his intentions of becoming the vessel of Maotelus. The others had noticed something different between the two of them; they realized that they needed to be alone. So they stayed in a different room at the inn, and the other seraphim didn’t go back inside Sorey for the entire night.

 

It was nothing like this. That night it was filled with love and tears. Mikleo cried the whole time, knowing that he may not see Sorey for decades, centuries, or more. Maybe not ever again. Sorey kissed his tears away, and held him as close to him as he could. Mikleo had never felt so sad yet happy at the same time. By the time it was over, the love in the seraph’s heart had grown twice as large. Sorey was so careful, so affectionate, and he made sure he cleaned Mikleo up perfectly. Then he grabbed his shirt off of the ground and put it on Mikleo, buttoning it up halfway as he pressed kisses against his boyfriend’s jaw. They fell asleep in each other’s arms with their legs entwined, pushing the thoughts of the future out of their minds.

 

This time it was violent, vigorous, and rough. Mikleo stared at the ceiling above Sorey’s head, clenching his fists and allowing himself to cry. He had loved being so close to Sorey, and now look where they were. The worst turn of events possible had come to pass. This was the one thing he hadn’t expected. He had expected to return home crying, but he never expected for Sorey to turn into... this.

 

Mikleo squeezed his eyes shut and allowed himself to let out a whimpered moan, curling up his toes and turning his head to cause his fringe to his head burning red face. His heart was pounding, and the tears wouldn’t stop spilling.

 

With very little time at all, Sorey had finished and was standing up to zip up his pants. Mikleo laid still and turned his head to look at him, his eyes a puffy red and his wrists still placed against the mattress.

 

Sorey adjusted his sleeves and looked over at the smaller male, before leaning down to grab the teal outfit from the ground and toss it onto his chest. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

 

He left without another word, and Mikleo sat up and blubbered as he pulled his clothes back on. Once he was done, he pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them.

 

This continued for days. Sorey came into his cell multiple times a day, got what he wanted, and left. He showed no signs of caring about Mikleo, and it killed him. Sometimes he looked out the window at the world below and wondered if Sorey was right. What was the point of anything anymore?

 

But then he shook his head and snapped out of it as soon as he felt malevolence bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t allow himself to think like that; he knew it wasn’t true. There was always a point. He brought up the old image of Sorey, thinking about how his eyes brightened as soon as they ventured out into the parts of the world they had never been before. That always grounded him.

 

Mikleo just wished that Rose and the others would get there quicker. He knew that what they had planned would take a decent amount of time to get just right, but the time was passing by slower than it ever had in his entire life. He was afraid he might go insane.

 

Sometimes Sorey led Mikleo out of his cell and handcuffed him to a pole in the room where it all went down. Mikleo had no idea where he got the handcuffs, but he assumed that it was sometime when he was out wreaking havoc out in the world. That broke his heart, but he tried to stay strong as long as he knew the others were okay.

 

One day, Mikleo was leaning against one of the poles, the handcuffs pressing into his skin. Sorey made them as tight as he could to ensure that Mikleo couldn’t get away. Every time he came in here, he listened to Sorey rage on and on about how pitiful the world was, and Sorey attempted to push Mikleo into the malevolence that tempted him every time he overthought.

 

“Join me, Mikleo,” Sorey whispered, crouching in front of him. He grabbed tightly onto his chin and pushed his forehead into Mikleo’s, his circlet cold against his burning skin. “I know how much you want to. And your friends clearly aren’t coming.”

 

“Yes, they are,” Mikleo fought weakly, gulping and looking anywhere but in Sorey’s eyes. He was finding it hard to be as defiant as he once was. “They’re going to stop you...”

 

“You really believe that, don’t you?” Sorey said in exasperation, furrowing his eyebrows. “They abandoned you, Mikleo! They threw you to the dirt and left you there, and they’re not coming back. It’s been months.”

 

“You’re wrong...” Mikleo breathed out, squeezing his eyes shut and forcing Sorey’s words out of his mind. “They wouldn’t do that.”

 

“Wouldn’t they?” Sorey laughed. “They never cared about you, Mikleo. They only cared about me. You were useless. Just my childhood friend who was too stubborn to stay at home. My liability. None of them wanted you there, and if another water seraph was up to the task, you wouldn’t have been there much longer.”

 

Useless... Liability. Mikleo had thought this from the start. That was one of the reasons he was here in the first place; not only did he want to save Sorey more than anything, but he wanted to prove himself. He could hardly stand to hear those words come out of Sorey’s mouth. But he knew it wasn’t really him.

 

“You’re just trying to rile me up...” Mikleo laughed halfheartedly, shaking his head. “It doesn’t affect me anymore, Sorey.”

 

Sorey growled and raised his hand, using it give Mikleo a rough slap across the cheek. Mikleo gasped and stared down at the ground, tears pooling in his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time since they had came here. Even though Sorey had thrown him around inconsiderately and talked to him as if he was nothing but a bug to be squashed, Mikleo didn’t expect him to actually hit him. The malevolence had truly consumed him.

 

“Riled up now, aren’t you?” Sorey snarled, standing up and wiping his hands on his pants. “You know, I’m sick of your attitude. Maybe I _should_ kill y-“

 

“Stop!”

 

Mikleo’s eyes widened as he looked past Sorey to see Rose walking forward, determination in her blue eyes. A flicker of hope rose in his chest at the sight of them, and he looked at Sorey to find him staring back at her.

 

“Rose...” Mikleo breathed out, a small smile stretching across his lips at the sight of his friend. Edna appeared next to her, holding out her umbrella to cast an arte that hit the handcuffs binding Mikleo and setting him free.

 

“I see...” Sorey said with a leer, taking a few steps forward and crossing his arms over his chest. “So that’s what took so long... You became the new Shepherd.”

 

“I did,” Rose said in response while positioning herself in a defensive stance. The other seraphim appeared next to her, ready for the battle. “I endured everything you did. I purified all of the hellions I could find, I went to all of the trials, and I became as strong as I could just to make sure I would save you.”

 

“Too bad all of your efforts will go to waste,” Sorey replied, looking completely calm as he tapped his fingers against his arms. “I can’t help but notice that you’re down a seraph. Oh yeah, that’s because he belongs to me.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Mikleo replied, running toward his staff that was still on the ground from before because Sorey never cared to throw it out. However, he didn’t make it in time because Sorey latched onto one of the sides of his cape and jerked him backward.

 

“You thought you could get away?” Sorey mumbled, his arm wrapped around Mikleo’s chest to hold him flush against his so he couldn’t escape. “That doesn’t make me happy, Mikleo.”

 

Mikleo panicked, his arms hanging loosely at his sides as he looked around for something, anything, that could get him out of this. He had to help them.

 

“Well, you’re not making me very happy either,” Zaveid huffed from his position. “Put him down, Sorey.”

 

“And just why would I do that? Maybe I’ll just kill him instead.”

 

“You won’t,” Mikleo breathed out, hoping that the words were true. Sorey didn’t deny it. “I know you won’t.”

 

“Make this fight fair, Sorey!” Lailah called out, taking a step forward. “It’s clear that you believe that we can’t beat you. At least give us a fighting chance. If you defeat us, we will give up and let this go on. This is just a chance to prove that you’re stronger.”

 

“Lailah!” Mikleo yelled in bewilderment. How could she bet on this? Would they really give up? Lailah wasn’t one to back out on her word, but they had to purify Sorey. They absolutely had to. Did she really have that much faith in Rose? Mikleo realized that he did too.

 

“I feel like you’re tricking me, but you do have a point,” Sorey grumbled, releasing his hold on Mikleo. Mikleo lurched forward and grabbed onto his staff. “This will just prove my strength further.”

 

Mikleo gasped and ran back to the others, immediately reaching for Lailah’s hands so she could make the Sub Lord pact for him once again, so he could fight alongside Rose and the others. He wouldn’t have been doing much against Sorey otherwise.

 

“You look horrifying, Meebo,” Edna pointed out, poking him in the side with her umbrella and tilting her head to the side with a grin. His hair was an absolute mess, and he had bags under his eyes. And his clothes were ripped even more than they had been that first day when Sorey threw him into the cell. It had been a long few months.

 

“Thanks a lot, Edna,” Mikleo mumbled, realizing that he missed her teasing a lot. With a smile, he got into battle stance, ready to take on the person he loved the most.

 

The battle went on for a long time, and at first, it almost seemed hopeless. But they kept pressing on, fighting for the man they knew Sorey to be. They knew he was in there somewhere, clawing his way through the malevolence to try and get out. Eventually, Sorey was weak and barely able to stand up straight. His eyes were flickering slightly from red back to green, and they knew they were getting close.

 

“Rose, armatize with me!” Mikleo yelled, looking over at her as he blocked an arte from Sorey. “I’m his weakness!”

 

Rose nodded immediately, not hesitating to hold out her arm and call out Mikleo’s true name. “Luzrov Rulay!”

 

Sorey dropped to his knees as Zaveid hit him with an arte from behind and Edna delivered a few shots from her umbrella.

 

“Time for the final blow!” Rose yelled, running forward from her distant position where she had been sending flying artes at Sorey from the bow of the water armatus.

 

“Born from water! My foe is ahead!” Rose and Mikleo yelled in unison, shooting from the bow before charging forward. “The vortex swallows you! Aqua Limit!”

 

They landed behind Sorey, and as soon as they were done, they released from the armatization as they fought for breath. Mikleo wiped the sweat off his brow, running back to kneel in front of Sorey and dropping his staff on the ground next to him, Rose not too far behind. 

 

“Sorey! Did it work?” Mikleo yelled, looking back at the others who rushed forward as well. They still held a firm grasp on their weapons, however, unsure of what to expect.

 

They all looked upon Sorey, watching as the purple flames of malevolence slowly faded away and dwindled down to nothing. Sorey was knelt on the ground, his hair blocking his face as he clenched his fists against his legs. Slowly, he looked up, revealing his eyes to be the bright emerald green they once were before.

 

Mikleo gasped, a smile stretching across his fingers. “Sorey! You’re back!”He immediately leapt forward without hesitation, slinging his arms around the other male’s shoulders and pressing his face into his neck. “I missed you. God, I missed you so much.”

 

“Wh-What happened?” Sorey asked in confusion as he looked at the others, resting a hand against Mikleo’s back and rubbing it gently. “Where’s Heldalf?”

 

“You let him get away, idiot,” Edna said with that brutally honest tone of hers, opening up the umbrella and holding it behind her.

 

“Edna, be nice!” Rose said, crossing her arms over her chest as Zaveid stood next to Edna and gave her a small thump in the head.

 

“Zaveid!” Edna yelled, looking up at him with anger. Zaveid held his hands up in surrender with a smug grin.

 

“This is not the time to be playing around,” Lailah interrupted, stepping forward and looking down at Sorey. “You became a hellion. The malevolence consumed you after you and Mikleo had to stop Heldalf at the cost of Gramps’ life. Heldalf got away.”

 

Sorey widened his eyes in shock, feeling his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. How could he have let that happen? _Gramps_... he thought, remembering the feelings that he had felt before. He shook his head and gently pushed Mikleo away from him. “What have I done?”

 

“Sorey...” Mikleo breathed out, one of his hands raising to be pressed against Sorey’s cheek.

 

“How-How did you guys stop me?” Sorey asked, squeezing his eyes shut and not wanting to look at their expressions. They must have been so ashamed of him.

 

“Rose became the new Shepherd in town,” Zaveid answered, his hands on his hips.

 

Sorey looked over at Rose, who gave him a slight wave and smile. “Sorry I took your job,” she said with a chuckle.

 

“You... You probably did better at it than me,” he said weakly, tearing his gaze from hers and staring at the floor. “I’m so sorry everyone. I don’t know what I can do to repay you.”

 

“This was just another bump in the road,” Lailah told him, reaching down to grab his Shepherd’s cloak. “Get some rest, get better, and reorganize your thoughts. Then I will give this back to you, and we can defeat Heldalf once and for all.”

 

“Okay... I’m so sorry,” he breathed out. “I’ve wasted everyone’s time. Heldalf should be defeated by now.”

 

“Maybe it’s taking a bit more time, but who cares? All that matters is the end game, right?” Rose asked, giving Sorey an encouraging smile. “We can do this, Sorey. Me and everyone else have your back. I’d be happy to be your Squire again, if that’s okay with you. I don’t think I’m quite ready to stay as a Shepherd just yet.”

 

“Of course I’m okay with that,” Sorey replied, nodding his head before turning over to Mikleo.

 

The smaller male looked like a mess, much worse than any of the others. He glanced down at his ripped clothing, and suddenly, flashes of their past times in the dark from the last few months entered his brain. It was fuzzy, but he could remember some of it. Sorey’s eyes widened in horror as he put both of his hands on Mikleo’s cheeks and pressed his forehead against his.

 

“Mikleo, I... what did I do to you?” he muffled out, pain clearly written in his eyes. “How could I do this to you?”

 

Mikleo’s eyes watered as he rested both of his hands against Sorey’s, their fingers slotting together. “It... It wasn’t you.”

 

“I don’t care, I... Even as a hellion, why would I do that to you?” Sorey breathed out, tears leaking from his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Mikleo. I don’t deserve forgiveness from anyone, especially from you.”

 

“Yes, you do,” Mikleo whispered, staring into his eyes. “You were not yourself. You were a hellion, Sorey. I can’t hold you accountable for that. I’ve missed you so much, and I forgive you. I forgive you, okay?”

 

Sorey nodded. Even though he felt like he didn’t deserve any of their kindness, he wasn’t going to fight anymore. This kind of self deprecation would just spiral into malevolence once again. He had to move on if he wanted to get better and defeat Heldalf for good this time. Now, he would be prepared, and things would go how they were meant to go.

 

Sorey leaned forward, pressing his lips against Mikleo’s gently and stroking his thumbs against the seraph’s cheeks. Mikleo tensed at first, too used to being handled in a harsh manner and expecting that to happen again. However, it didn’t, so Mikleo relaxed and sunk into the kiss, removing his hands from Sorey’s to reach down and tug on Sorey’s shirt to pull him closer.

 

“Bleh. Get a room,” Edna mumbled, before doing a 180 degree turn and walking toward the exit. Lailah chuckled and followed with Rose and Zaveid following behind as well.

 

Sorey and Mikleo pulled away, violet eyes meeting green and a light shade of pink appearing on their cheeks. “I love you, Mikleo,” Sorey told him. Oh, it had been so long since he had heard those words. “I will never do that to you again. I promise.”

 

Mikleo smiled. “You better not,” he told him, the two of them standing up and entwining their fingers together as they trailed a good distance behind the others. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i really appreciate it!


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